The 2026 CPKC Women’s Open boded well for the future of Canadian women’s golf.
Four Canadians aged 18 and under made the cut — which was a first in the tournament.
Vancouver’s Anna Huang did more than make the cut after two tries. The 17-year-old was the top Canadian in a tie for fourth at 12-under-par for the tournament.
Calgary’s Aphrodite Deng finished a stroke behind Huang to tie for seventh. The 16-year-old was low amateur in Canada’s LPGA tournament for a second straight year.
Michelle Xing, who turned 18 in July, was a late addition to the field under a sponsor’s exemption. The golfer from Richmond Hill, Ont., also made the cut after two previous attempts to finish at 3 under.
Amateur Clairey Lin of Langley, B.C., made the cut in her tournament debut at age 16 and finished 3 over.
“The young talent coming out of Canada right now is phenomenal,” said Canada’s women’s head coach Salimah Mussani.
“When you have all these girls under the age of 18 doing these things, they are the future. They are the next Brooke Hendersons.
“They are the next 15, 20 years of Canadian women’s golf. And they’re going to be inspiring that next pool that starts to pick up the game.”
Henderson, whose 14 career wins includes two CPKC titles, finished tied for 13th in Edmonton and was looking up the leaderboard at a couple of Canadian teenagers.
“It’s amazing to see so many Maple Leafs at the top of the leaderboard,” Henderson said. “Just amazing scores all week by all of them. It’s really cool to see that and to be a part of it, and I feel like the future is really bright for the next few years.
“The national team has always had a really strong program, but it seems like they’re really doing a great job right now, which is cool to see. The players, I don’t know any of them that well, but what I have seen is that they work extremely diligently, very hard, and they’re very eager to try to be better.”
The 28-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., may not know the Canadian teenagers personally, but they know her.
“Brooke has been someone I looked up to the most,” Huang said. “Ever since I started playing golf she was definitely my idol.
“To play alongside her now in these big events is really special.”